Pauri District Magistrate Sushil Kumar warned that due to the change in the atmosphere and the geographical conditions, the number of forest fire incidents might increase manifold and all concerned must be prepared to deal with the situation.
“The threat of a large swathe of the forest being engulfed by fire is real and to stave things off , every section of the society must join hands,” he said while addressing a workshop organised jointly by the forest department and Jalagam Vikas Pariyojana in Pauri on Wednesday.
In course of the one- day workshop, the cause of the forest fire and the works to be done to douse it was discussed. Among others, gram pradhans, sarpanchs gram panchayat and members of panchayats aside from the officers of the forest department were present.
Alerting the participants, DM said that awareness campaigns to prevent forest fire is needed. “
The villagers should be vigilant and they should inform the control room immediately after they spot forest fire.
It is the responsibility of the villagers to give such information. It must be doused before it turns big.
It destroys herbs, kills cattle and harms environment. To control such fires, youth and the Mahilla Mangal Dal would be trained so that their help can be taken during fire incident. The forest fire principally stems from the negligence of the people,” he said.
Deputy conservator of forest laxman Singh Rawat briefed the cause of forest fire and its prevention and said that those found guilty of igniting forest fire would be given two years’ imprisonment aside from being slapped with a fine of Rs 5000.